Fish-tail propeller.



B. STEVENSON.

FISH TAIL PROPELLER.

APPLIOATION FILED rmm. 1013.

1,079,193. Patented Nov. 18, 1913.

2 BHBETSSHEET 1.

INVENTOR Bzrzgfiam Jiereizson ATTORNEYS cr-urmuu I'LANIHHIAPII C0..WASHINOTON. D c.

B. STEVENSON. FISH TAIL PROPELLER.

APPLICATION IILEI) FEB.7,1913.

Patented Nov. 18, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

1 m 0 I u 1 u a 1 u a a 0 M w BINGHAM STEVENSON, 0F LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS.

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FISH-TAIL PROPELLER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

ltatented Nov. 2th .1913.

Application filed February 7, 1913. Serial No. 746,776.

lb all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, liixonnr rl'ruviixsox, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Little Rock, in the county of Pulaski and State of irrkansas, have invented a new and Improved l islr-Tail Propeller, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My .invention relates to lish-tail propellers in which a paddle is mounted to oscillate about a vertical axis. it is a design of my invention to provide an improved operating means for giving an oscillating motion to the paddle.

It is a further design of my invention to provide, in connection with fish-tail propellers, a means for turning the paddle about its axis of oscillation, to locate the angle of oscillation in different positions for propulsion in different directions whereby the propeller may be employed for steering, and for forward and backward propulsion.

It is also a design of my invention to improve in various particulars propellers of the indicated character, to the end that of ficiency in operation may be promoted, as well as simplicity of adjustment and control.

The invention will be particularly explained in the specific description heroinafter to be given.

Reference is to be had to the acconr panying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a propeller and its actuating and controlling means constructed in accordance with my invention, the same being shown in connection with a marine vessel; Fig. 2 is a plan View; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan View showing the paddle in a different position from that indicated in Fig. 2; Fig. 4: isatransverse vertical section; Fig. 5 is an inverted sectional plan view on a plane corresponding with the line 55 of Fig. a; Fig. 6 is a detail t 'ansverse section of the reciprocating rack for oscillating the shaft of the paddle; Fi 7 is a horizontal sectional View of a modified form of the paddle; and Fig. 8 is a fragmentary sectional side elevation of the paddle shown in Fi 7.

The propeller and its appurtenances may be employed in connection with any marine vessel 10. The paddle 11 may be in the form of a single flexible blade, and isinounted on a vertical shaft 12. The paddle may have a sleeve 13 secured thereto by a clamp bolt or set screw 11 or its equivalent, the sleeve being adapted to be removably secured to the shaft 12 by a set screw 15 or the like. The propeller shaft 12 is provided with means for oscillating it; for this purpose l make use of a pinion 115 secured to the said shaft, the pinion meshing with a reciprocating rack 17, which engages a suit able guide or guides 18. in arm 19 on the rack 17 is connected, as by a screw 20, to an arm 21 on the eccentric. strap 22 of an eccentric 23. The eccentric is keyed to a hollow shaft 241-, surrounding the shaft 12 carrying the paddle and on said hollow shaft is a bevel pinion 25, in mesh with a pinion 26 on the drive shaft 27, adapted to be driven by any suitable power, an engine 28 being conventimmlly shown.

For mounting the vertical shaft 12 carrying the paddle, and the hollow shaft 2t surrounding the same, a vertical tubular sleeve bearing :30 is provided, having a base flange 51 for securing it in position. The shaft 12 extends through and has a bearing substantially throughout its length in the sleeve 50, and the hollow shaft 21. surrounds the reduced upper end 52 of the bearing 50, the lower end of the hollow shaft resting on a shoulder 53 at the lower end of the reduced portion 52 of the bearing sleeve.

In operation, it will be obvious that the turning of the shaft 27 will, through the medium of the pinions 25, 26, or any other equivalent driving connection, turn the hollow shaft 2-l, and with it the eccentric 23, so that the eccentric strap 22 will cause the rack bar 17 to be reciprocated in the guides 18, and thus the pinion 17 and vertical propeller shaft 12 will be oscillated and will give an oscillatory movement to the paddle 11, for propelling the vessel in the well known manner of fish-tail propellers.

In order that the propeller blade may be turned in its plane of operation, to dispose the blade in different angular positions relatively to the normal direction of propulsion, for the purpose of steering, the rack 17 and its guiding means 18 are mounted on a. turntable 29, on the hub 30 of which a peripheral pinion 31 is formed or secured, meshing with which is a spur pinion 32 on a vertical shaft 33. The shaft 33 is adapted to be turned by a steering shaft 3%, through suitable driving connections such as bevel pinions 35, 36, and the shaft 34: is provided with a sprocket 37, ove which a sprocket chain 38 runs, the chain running also over a sprocket 89 on the shaft 40 of the steering wheel 41, the arrangement being such that the turning of the wheel ll in either direction will serve to turn the shaft 8% and shaft 33 geared thereto, and thus through the medium of the pinions 31, 32, the turntable 29 may be turned either to the right or to the left 'of the ships axis, as for instance, to the position slmwn in Fig. 8, to locate the propeller blade so that its angle of oscillation will be at one side of the normal position and the paddle thus be utilized for steering.

instead of giving the paddle the form of a single flexible blade 11, it may be made up of articulated links or sections, as illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8. The individual sections a2 are pivot-ally linked together by vertical pins 43, and each section is recessed as at 44 at one end, in which recess the tapered terminal 4-5 of an adjacent section is received. T he joints between the link sect-ions are not water-tight, so that water may enter the recesses to provide a hydraulic check to avoid slamming and knocking in the turning of the sections when the paddle is oscillated. The tapered ends 45 of adjacent sections may oscillate in the recesses eat, so that in the oscillation of the paddle the sections will assume angular positions, giving a result similar to that of the flexible paddle 11, which will assume a curved form when oscillated, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3.

The described construction affords a practical means for carrying my invention into effect, and I would state in conclusion that I do not limit myself strictly to the mechanical details herein illustrated, since manifestly the same can be considerably varied without departure from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, 1

claim as new and desire to secure by Letters low shaft surrounding the first shaft, to

which hollow shaft the turntable is secured,

means for reciprocating the rack, and means for turning the hollow shaft and its -turn table, the turning of said table serving to turn the rack and the first mentioned shaft with the table.

In combination with a fish-tail propeller, a shaft on which the propeller is mounted, a pinion on said shaft, a recipro- -ating rack bar in mesh with said pinion, a turntable having a guide for said rack bar, a hollow shaft on which said table is se cured, said hollow shaft surrounding the first mentioned shaft, a drive shaft, driving connections between the drive shaft and the said hollow shaft, a pinion in fixed relation to the turntable, a second pinion in mesh with the pinion on the turntable, a shaft bearing said second pinion, a steering shaft having means to turn the same, and driving connections between the steering shaftand th shaft bearing said second pinion.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

BINGHAM STEVENSON.

Witnesses:

E. F. PAGE, M. C. MARTIN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

